Kevin Hart Will Host The 2019 Academy Awards

The final weeks of 2018 are upon us, but come next February, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will carve out air time to honor many of the movies that came out this year. Now it's been confirmed by that Kevin Hart will host the 91st Academy Awards. Hart himself made the news official, saying:

For years I have been asked if I would ever Host the Oscars and my answer was always the same...I said it would be the opportunity of a lifetime for me as a comedian and that it will happen when it's suppose to. I am so happy to say that the day has finally come for me to host the Oscars. I am blown away simply because this has been a goal on my list for a long time....To be able to join the legendary lost of host that have graced that stage is unbelievable. I know my mom is smiling from ear to ear right now. I want to thank my family/friends/fans for supporting me & riding with me all this time....I will be sure to make this years Oscars a special one. I appreciate the @TheAcademy for the opportunity ....now it's time to time of the occasion #Oscars

It had been rumored earlier in the day that Kevin Hart was in talks with the Academy to host the 91st Academy Awards, but only hours later, the comedian turned to Instagram to reveal that it's a done deal. Hart follows behind Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the Academy Awards both this year and in 2017. Chris Rock handled hosting duties in 2016.

The last couple years have been most kind for Kevin Hart's career. In 2016, along with heading his own stand-up concert film Kevin Hart: What Now?, he also lent his talents to Ride Along 2, Central Intelligence and The Secret Life of Pets. Then in 2017, he starred in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the latter of which became the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2017. This year saw Kevin Hart starring in Night School, and his upcoming appearances include The Upside (which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival), The Secret Life of Pets 2, Jumanji 3 and Ride Along 3.

Along with hiring Kevin Hart to host, the 91st Academy Awards is also instituting several changes. First off, due to declining ratings over the past two ceremonies, producers Michael de Luca and Jennifer Todd will not be returning, and Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss are filling their spots.

The Academy is also aiming to keep the ceremony from going over three hours, which means some of the categories will be announced during the commercial breaks, and excerpts of acceptance speeches will be shown later in the broadcast. There were also plans to debut a Best Popular Film category during next year's ceremony, but after the idea was met with criticism and backlash, the Academy announced that is postponing the introduction of this category.

The 91st Academy Awards are scheduled to air on February 24, 2019 on ABC. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more news about the ceremony, but in the meantime, you can check out what movies are arriving next year by browsing through our 2019 release schedule.